For forced marriage

Spain: Twelve-year-old daughter sold for €3000

A couple in Spain are said to have sold their twelve-year-old daughter for €3,000 for a forced marriage. Thanks to an attentive neighbor, the girl was brought to safety and the handcuffs clicked for her legal guardians.

The mother and stepfather had already been arrested in Malagón in the province of Ciudad Real around 150 kilometers south of Madrid in mid-February, the state television station RTVE reported on Tuesday, citing the Guardia Civil police unit responsible.

The child was found a few days later more than 200 kilometers from her parents' home in Baza, Andalusia, before being forced into marriage with a 17-year-old and brought to safety, it was also reported. The mother (in the video below during the arrest) denied the allegations and claimed that the twelve-year-old had wanted to "go to her boyfriend". 

"True guardian angel"
The Guardia Civil received the decisive tip-off from a neighbor of the parents in Malagón, who "acted as a true guardian angel", RTVE reported. "The little girl was my son's best friend (...) She was beaten by her mother and one day she asked me for help and told me everything," said neighbor Sheyla in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday. The girl was afraid of her mother and was "always crying and shaking".

She had already gone to the police earlier to report the alleged abuse of the girl, the neighbor continued. And she had informed the Guardia Civil again after the twelve-year-old disappeared. "The police then acted very quickly," said the neighbor.